Mr Jacob Mathew, Executive Editor and Publisher of the Malayala Manorama group of publications, has been elected President of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
First Indian
Mr Mathew, who will begin his two-year term on July 1, is the first Indian to hold the presidency of the association.
He has served on the board and the Executive Council for four years.
He has also been an active participant in many WAN-IFRA events for over decades.
Besides, he is a trustee of the Press Institute of India/Research Institute for Newspaper Development and is also on the Asian Board of INMA. He is a past president of the Indian Newspaper Society and is a past chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India.
WAN-IFRA, based in France and Germany with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world's newspapers and news publishers.
It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.
Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.